. >> i think will & grace probably did more to educate the american public than anything anybody's done so far. >> on this, supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage agree, hollywood has been influential of encouraging acceptance of gays and lesbians. it was through the medium of television that millions of americans first had open gays and lesbians in their living rooms. >> i can accept the fact that he's gay, but why does he have to slip a ring on this guy's finger? it was even fodder for the "golden girls". >> everyone wants someone to grow old with. shouldn't everyone have that chance? >> i'm judd. >> in 1994, pedro on the real world san francisco introduced a gay man with hiv/aids to millions of then-teenagers. he died that year and was praised by president clinton. ♪ so no one told you life was gonna be this way ♪ >> it helped to create an environment of acceptance where more and more gays and lesbians came out of the closet. the six friends may have all been straight, but more and more americans have friends that are not. and that's what's changed dramatically over the pa